


SMS

by luciferinasundaysuit



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Long-Distance Relationship, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 11:18:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2386424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luciferinasundaysuit/pseuds/luciferinasundaysuit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their relationship began with a text message.</p>
            </blockquote>





	SMS

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boltschick2612](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boltschick2612/gifts).



Danny remembers. That’s kind of his thing. Cally remembers the big things, like their first date, but details tend to escape him. Danny remembers the little things, like the first time they met on that bus in Guelph. He had just been traded from Barrie, he didn’t know anyone, and no one had time to introduce him to the team before they left for their next game. He sat there being the awkward new guy until Cally tapped him on the shoulder and leaned up to introduce himself. Danny thinks he remembered because he knew it was important, even then.

They were just kids when they met, teenagers who were both sure they would make the NHL and terrified that they wouldn’t. Cally was more sure. Danny was more terrified, not that he let anyone but Cally and his family know it. When Danny got traded to London, Cally got a little less sure, and Danny got a little more terrified.

Since he was hurt his draft year, Danny didn’t really expect to be drafted. Cally was the one disappointed. He sent Danny a dozen texts that all said pretty much the same thing.

“ur better than half these guys”

They repeated the process both years after that.

They had just started dating before the trade. Cally had asked Danny out with a text message, something Danny made fun of him about for years. 

“do u wanna go out w me”  
“like on a date?”  
“what else could tht mean”  
“ur a jerk but ill go out w u anywy. we gonna do evrythng thru txt now?”  
“maybe”

They had texted more than other kids their age after that, getting frustrated with T9 and always going over their text limits. They couldn’t risk being overheard, so texting let them say things that had seemed so urgent at the time. 

“watched ur game. u looked hot”  
“not as hot as u”

Danny had thought he was being really smooth. Cally had answered favorably so he considered it a success, but thinking back on just how cool they weren’t makes him laugh now.

Cally had text him so many pissed off messages when he played through playoffs with a broken hand.

“GODDAMNIT DANNY”  
“DANNY UR GONNA FUCK UR HAND UP”  
“UR TAKING YEARS OFF MY LIFE”  
“U BETTER FUCKIN WIN THE MEM CUP AFTER THIS SHIT”

When the Knights did win the Mem Cup, Cally had probably been more proud than Danny himself.

“U DID SO GOOD OH MY GOD DANNY”

Danny would never tell him, but Cally being proud of him felt almost as good as winning, and Danny really loves to win. He tried to play it cool. He remembers that vividly, not wanting to seem too excited.

“Thx babe”

Cally hadn’t really bought it, though. He was always good at that, knowing when Danny was bullshitting him. 

“I KNOW UR EXCITED OMG DANNY”

Then, before Danny could answer

“I LOVE U”

He’d never said it before. Danny had dropped his phone in the dressing room, and Prusty had almost stepped on it. After picking it up, Danny had had a small freak out. Cally loved him. Did he love Cally? He thought he loved Cally. Was he sure he loved Cally? Did Cally really love him, or was he just excited? Looking back, he really was an oblivious kid. Of course he loved Cally. He had loved Cally since the day they met. With shaking hands, he had answered:

“do u rly?”  
“yeah, stupid”  
“o. i love u too.”

Danny wishes now that he had sounded a little more certain, because he had ended up on the phone with Cally at four in the morning, swearing up and down that he really did love him, that he wasn’t just saying it, that he really did mean it. They had been the dumbest fucking kids. 

The season Cally was in Guelph and Danny was in Hartford, there was a lot of texting. A lot. “Thank God we’re paying our own phone bills because our parents would murder us,” a lot. 

“cally”  
“what”  
“i miss u”  
“i kno”  
“fuck off, han solo”  
“miss u too”

Phone calls were for hockey talk and inane chatter and gossip. Texting was for things they didn’t want anyone else to hear. Roommates made life difficult. That one year age gap was a real pain in the ass. They were so fucking glad they were in the same organization, though. It seemed too good to be true. They had felt so fucking lucky when Danny signed with Hartford. They’d at least be on the same team for a while, hopefully. They had been expecting to make do with offseasons and occasional visits. Danny remembers telling Cally when had signed his ELC with the Rangers.

“guess what”  
“what babe”  
“rangers want to sign me”  
“FOR REAL?”  
“yeah, for real”  
“im so fuckin proud of u”

Danny had been just as proud of Cally when he signed his ELC, even more proud than he had been when Cally got drafted. Danny had been hoping for this ever since he had gotten invited to Rangers training camp. Him and Cally together, just like they were supposed to be.

When they both signed their ELCs, they bought phones with actual keyboards. 

“This is so much easier.”  
“Oh my god, Danny, you can spell?”  
“Be nice to me, jerk.”  
“I’m always nice to you.”  
“Prove it.”

They both went up and down during Cally’s first season, and Danny hated that he never knew if they would be in the same place at the same time.

“Don’t call me a baby.”  
“…ok?”  
“It sucks not knowing when either of us is going to be up or down.”  
“I don’t like it either but we’re both gonna work hard and eventually stay up.”  
“Promise?”  
“I’m trying my hardest. I know you are too.”

Cally’s second season was better for Danny. He was finally in the NHL full time, he was an undrafted success story, and it looked like Cally was going to be up full time by the end of the season too.

“You did it, you know. Proud of you, Danny.”  
“We did it. Both of us.”

After that, they texted a lot less. They were always together. Within arm’s reach. They got so much shit for it, but it was worth it. They roomed together, spent all their free time together, and they got shit for that too, especially when they guys found out that Danny unpacked Ryan’s clothes for him, but Danny liked doing little things to take care of Ryan. It had been a long time since he was able to on a regular basis.

When they were together, they texted more like normal friends instead of two guys carrying on a clandestine romance.

“You’re late for lunch.”  
“I’m not late, you’re early. Be right there.”  
“Punctuality, Cally.”  
“YOU’RE EARLY.”

They started saying important things in person, like “Do you want to move in with me?” “Yes, but I swear to God, you have to at least try to not be a slob,” and “We’re monogamous, right? We probably should have gotten to that sooner, but anyway. Yeah?” “Yes, Daniel, you idiot.”

They carried on like that for five years, like normal couples who get to spend their time together. Sleeping in the same bed, eating meals together, having honest to God date nights. Texting like they used to only happened when one of them was home injured. Or, more accurately, when Cally was home injured.

“You played great.”  
“You liked that? That was for you. I love you.”  
“I love you too. I’ll be back soon.”

Danny doesn’t really like to think about Cally’s trade, about how he could have held out and maybe they could have found somewhere together, about how Cally really thought they were going to be able to work something out, about how he never expected Cally to be traded. About how they both should have known better.

He didn’t say any of that when Cally told him. Neither did Cally. Danny just kissed Cally in the one moment they had to themselves and said, “Text me, okay?” Cally had nodded and kissed Danny back.

They did this once. They’ll do it again. Danny remembers how.

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fill the prompt "Ryan Callahan/Dan Girardi; text messages"


End file.
